Safety razor



March 21, 1939. H. v. CLAUSEN SAFETY RAZOR Filed July 5, 1937 IN V ENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 21, 1939 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to safety razors, one of its objects being toprovide a holder for doubleedged blades the parts of which are alljoined so that they will not become misplaced relative to each other,the construction being such as to enable the razor to be readily cleanedby the flow of water therethrough and easily dried by shaking.

Another object is to so join the handle to the blade holder as to permitthe blade to be supported in an oblique position relative to the handle,means being employed for preventing the blade from cutting the skinwhile being drawn thereover at said angle to obtain a shearing cutthrough the hairs.

A still further object is to provide a razor of the safety type whichemploys the usual flexible blade, it being preferred, however, to soproportion these blades that they are less exposed along their cuttingportions than ordinarily but to a sufficient degree to produce a closeshave, it being understood however that the blades of standard widthrather than blades of reduced width can be used in the razor.

A further object is to so construct the guards of the safety razor thatthey will not tend to stretch the skin close to the cutting edge but, onthe contrary, will permit the skin to bulge slightly toward the edge sothat a very slight exposure of the edge portion of the blade will besufiicient to produce the desired close shave without injury to theskin.

A further object is to arrange the handle obliquely to the cutting edge,as before explained so that there is no tendency on the part of the userto draw the edge into a line at right angles to the direction of pull.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may bemade in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred form of the invention has beenshown- In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a razor constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view partly in transverse section shown in Figure 1.

" Figure 3 is a plan view of a portion of a slightly modified form ofrazor. I

Figure 4 is a view showing another form in transverse section.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing another modification.

Figure 6 is a section more or less in diagram showing the razor pressedagainst a surface being shaved and showing how the parts cooperate topermit the skin to slightly bulge where it can be properly shaved by theslightly exposed edge of the razor without danger of being cut.

Figure 7 is a section showing how two blades can be assembled inoverlying position for the purpose of obtaining a double shavesimultaneously.

Figure 8 is a plan view of a blade which can be used with the razor.

Figure 9 is a section through a portion of another modified form ofrazor.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference I designates a bladesupporting member adapted to extend longitudinally of the blade andprovided on the upper surface thereof with any suitable means forentering a slot S or holes H in a blade B. This member I has a centralrecess or cavity 2 and is provided at its ends with pairs of oppositelydisposed arms 3. The arms of the two pairs can support roller guards 4or, instead of rollers, bars containing guard teeth 5, as shown inFigure 3, can be used. The bottom of the recess or cavity 2 has a slot 6for the purpose hereinafter explained.

A blade clamping plate or holder 1, the inner or lower face of which ispreferably concave as shown in Figure 1, is adapted tobear upon theblade B and hold it in proper position to maintain its cutting edges 1)only slightly exposed and in such relationship to the guards as to allowthe skin of the surface being shaved to bulge slightly into the path ofthe cutting edge. As this cutting edge projects only minutely beyond theholder, the skin will not be cut but the bases of the exposed portionsof the hairs will be brought into position where they will be shearedoff close to the skin and produce a smooth shave.

A contact roller 8 can be integral with the middle portion of the holder1 and this holder is held assembled with the support I by a side frame 9having an arm I0 extending inwardly therefrom and adapted to be seatedin a recess II where it is joined to the support I by a pivot device I2.

Formed on the lower or inner surface of the holder 1 adjacent to thecenter thereof, is an ear l3 or the like having a threaded stud l4pivotally connected thereto and engaged detachably by a socket member l5which projects from. one end of a handle IS. The shank ll of this socketmember is adapted to work within slot 6. When the socket member is inproper engagement with the threaded stud ll, one end of the handle l6will bear against the arcuate surface ll! of that portion of the holderin which the recess or socket 2 is located so as thus to hold the handlesteadily and to allow it to be clamped frictionally against the arcuatesurface to maintain the handle at a predetermined angle relative to thesupport I and holder 1.

With the parts thus assembled it will be seen that the holder 1 will beheld tightly clamped upon the blade by the handle pressing against thearcuate surface l8. By unscrewing the socket member l5 and the stud I,said stud will be released and the plate 1 can be swung laterally awayfrom the blade and around the pivot l2, thus permitting the blade to bereadily removed and allowing the parts to be easily cleaned and dried.

Obviously, instead of depending upon the handle l6 bearing against thearcuate surface l8 4 for fastening the holder 1 in gripping position, a

latch l9 can be mounted in support 20 as shown in Figure 5, this latchbeing adapted to engage a projection 2| extending from the holder 22 andthrough the blade B. Where such a latching means is employed the handle24 can be pivotally connected directly to the support 20.

A further modification of the structure shown in Figure 2 has beenillustrated in Figure 4 wherein the threaded stud 25 carried by theclamping member or holder 26 is extended through the slot 21 in thearcuate portion 218 of the support 29 and this stud is engaged by theend portion of handle 30 so that when said handle is screwed onto thestud, its recessed end 3| will bear tightly upon the arcuate portion 28to fasten the handle at a desired angle to the holder and also to fastenthe holder in gripping position.

Another modification of the structure shown in Figures 2 and 4 has beenshown in Figure 9 wherein instead of arranging the handle so that itwill bind upon the arcuate portion of the blade support, a recessed nut32 can be screwed onto the threaded stud, the handle 33 being pivotallyattached to this nut so as to be moved to any angle desired. By turningthe handle, however, the nut will be tightened against the arcuate portion to fasten the holder in position. Notwithstanding this it isevident that if such a handle is used, it is not indispensable to use apivotally connected stud 25, as a rigid one would serve, and that slot21 and arcuate portion 28 could also be dispensed with.

It is a well known fact that a better cutting action is obtained byholding the cutting edge obliquely to the direction of travel over thesurface being shaved and for that reason the handles have been somounted as to be adjustable angularly relative to the support and holderand to the gripped blade. Thus the cutting edge can be held obliquely tothe longitudinal axis of the handle so that when the handle is drawn,the cutting edge will be maintained in its oblique or shearing position.

It is also a well known fact that it is dangerous to use a safety razorfor oblique shaving due to the fact that an oblique holder has atendency which way said roller guard will counterbalance the aboveindicated tendency to move sidewise.

A proper arrangement of a roller guard 4 and a suitable blade clampingplate I will permit the construction of a safety razor which does notneed to have the blade exposure whichis indispensable in other safetyrazors of this type for obtaining a close shave. Considering, however,that many people are likely to insist on the customary edge exposure, itwould doubtless be advantageous to make the width of the razors of thetype described herein so that the customary edge exposure is obtainedwhen using a flexible blade of standard width, the smaller exposurebeing obtained by the use of a narrower blade around 21 millimeter wide.

The standard width of flexible blades is always 22 millimeters andconsidering that ordinary safety razors of this type usually have anexaggerated edge exposure which needlessly increases the danger ofcutting and skin irritation,

the above described blades of reduced width could to advantage be'uscdin nearly all double-edged safety razors manufactured at present,thereby making them softer in their action without affecting closenessof shave.

If it is desired to make the blade holder in such a way that it can onlybe used in combination with blades manufactured especially for same, theinside or lower face of blade clamping plate I, 22 or 26 can be providedwith any suitable means 36 of Figure 6 for entering holes H in blade B.

When a blade of reduced width is used in combination with holes H andprojections 36 are made of a suitable length an additional blade ofstandard width can be put in afterwards. In this way the edges-of thewider blade can be held at a convenient distance from those of thenarrower blade if it should be desirable to shave with two blades.

This arrangement can also be adapted for single-edged safety razors'asshown in Figure 7, the cutting edge of one blade being disposed inadvance of the other so that two shaving actions can be obtainedsimultaneously. It is evident that the upper blade holder 34 and thelower 35 can be supported by the same axis parallel to the cutting edgesand held in place between suitable arms attached to a handle. Thecorners of the cutting edges of blades B can be held adjacent to asuitable guard by any conventional means, said guard being attached to ahandle.

With special reference to clamping plate 1, same should preferably bemade as thin as possible, raised portion 31 being sufficient for keepingthe skin at a safe distance from the .edge, contact roller 8 serving todecrease friction if the razor is pressed against a surface being shavedas shown in Figure 6. In the position shown in said Figure 6 the flatsurface of the blade is practically parallel to the skin, whichincreases thecutting efliciency of the edge, such favorable workingposition hardly being possible with ordinary safety razors.

While the improvements have been described mostly with respect to razorsusing flexible blades it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat most of these improvements might easily be adapted to single-edgedrazors and also that various other changes can be made in theconstruction and arrangement of the parts in the scope of the presentinvention and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to coverall such modifications.

What is claimed is:

1. In a razor, the combination of a guard having oppositely disposedarcuate arms, rollers mounted one at the end of each of said arms,upstanding arms formed integrally with said first mentioned arms andextending above the same, a blade supported on said last mentioned arms,a clamping plate pivotally mounted on said guard overlying said bladeand provided with a roller to engage the face of the user, andprojections on the upper surface of said clamping plate on the oppositesides of the roller also adapted to engage the face of the user.

2. In a razor, the combination of a guard having oppositely disposedarcuate arms, rollers mounted one at the end of each of said arms,upstanding arms formed integrally with said first mentioned arms andextending above the same, a blade supported on said last mentioned arms,a clamping plate pivotally mounted on said guard overlying said bladeand provided with a roller to engage the face of the user, projectionson the upper surface of said clamping plate on the opposite sides of theroller also adapted to engage the face of the user, a handle, a membermounted upon said handle formed with a threaded recess, and a threadedstud pivotally mounted upon the clamping plate adapted to engage saidthreaded recess.

3. In a razor, the combination of a guard having oppositely disposedarcuate arms and a recess formed longitudinally thereof, rollers mountedat the end of each of said arms, upstanding arms formed integrally withsaid first mentioned arms and extending above the same, a bladesupported upon said last mentioned arms, a clamping plate pivotallymounted on said guard overlying said blade and provided with a roller toengage the face of the user, projections on the upper surface of saidclamping plate on the opposite sides of the roller also adapted toengage the face of the user, a handle, and a member mounted upon saidhandle adapted to frictionally engage within the recess in said guard.

HOLGER V. CLAUSEN.

